Nirmal Singh, the driver of Satnam Singh alias Bittu (38), a sarpanch of Khurdan village in Hoshiarpur’s Garhdiwala, who was shot outside a gurdwara in Sector 38 West, on Sunday, said the assailants fired at him repeatedly from a close range.

Nirmal Singh, the driver of Satnam Singh alias Bittu (38), a sarpanch of Khurdan village in Hoshiarpur’s Garhdiwala, who was shot outside a gurdwara in Sector 38 West, on Sunday, said the assailants fired at him repeatedly from a close range.

Nirmal, who is also the complainant in the case, was driving the truck in which Satnam Singh along with his family members and other villagers had come to Chandigarh to attend a function at the gurdwara.

“At about 11am, Satnam was standing near the truck when a few boys travelling in a Hyundai i-20 car stopped near him. Bobby, a resident of our village whom I know, along with two others got down from the car, holding a pistol, a double barrel gun and a rod,” said Nirmal, recounting the sequence of events before the police.

He added, “Satnam tried to run towards the truck to take shelter. He fell on the road near the truck.” It was Nirmal who rushed Satnam to hospital in a private vehicle.

On his way to the hospital, injured Satnam told Nirmal the names of the three attackers. “He told me that Bobby, Arshdeep and Tirath had fired at him. Bobby is the grandson of Gurcharan Singh of the village. They had even hit him with a rod,” Nirmal told the police. Satnam was declared unfit by doctors to record the statement.